Ferguson to head home as big three set to reunite
Coach Gary Stead has defended his New Zealand bowlers’ short-pitched barrage in Perth and promises more of the same in the right conditions as his Big Three reunite in Melbourne.
Stead confirmed fast bowler Lockie Ferguson would return home today after he suffered a grade two right calf strain after bowling 11 overs on debut in the 296-run first test defeat to Australia in Perth. He’ll be sidelined for 5-6 weeks.
A replacement in the 15-man squad will be announced today but with Trent Boult nearing full fitness he will reunite with Tim Southee and Neil Wagner for the first time since the England test at Mount Maunganui when the Black Caps play their first Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 32 years.
Stead was quizzed about his side’s short-pitched tactics with the pink ball on the third evening as Southee and Wagner sparked a collapse of 5-29.
Australian skipper Tim Paine labelled it ‘‘great theatre’’, as his fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins also peppered the Black Caps batsmen with devastating effect on the bouncy Optus Stadium pitch.
‘‘We think it’s going to be a bit of Bodyline for a lot of the series,’’ Paine said.
More than half the 39 wickets in the test fell to the short ball, and Stead appeared bemused he had to leap to his bowlers’ defence.
‘‘It’s hard to criticise the effort of the guys. When Lockie got injured I thought Neil Wagner and Tim Southee were absolutely outstanding,’’ Stead said.
‘‘We know we’re not the fastest attack in the world but the pressure they managed to apply was significant for us.’’
Southee equalled man-of-the-match Starc’s nine-wicket haul in his 51.3 overs while Wagner pounded in for 60 overs and took 7-151.
Asked if he thought Wagner could maintain it for three tough tests after enduring 40degC heat in Perth, Stead said, ‘‘yes I do, definitely’’.
AUSTRALIA
First innings 416 Second innings 217-9 dec
NEW ZEALAND
First innings 166 Second innings
J Raval c Lyon b Starc ......................................................... 1 T Latham lbw b Lyon ....................................................... 18 K Williamson c Wade b Lyon ....................................... 14 R Taylor c Paine b Starc ................................................. 22 H Nicholls c Head b Lyon ............................................... 21 BJ Watling c Paine b Starc ........................................... 40 C de Grandhomme c Smith b Cummins ............... 33 M Santner c Head b Cummins ..................................... 0 T Southee c Smith b Lyon ............................................... 4 N Wagner c Paine b Starc ............................................... 8 L Ferguson not out .............................................................. 1 Extras (6lb, 1nb, 2w) ........................................................... 0 Total (all out, 65.3 overs) ............................................. 171 Fall: 6 (Raval), 21 (Williamson), 57 (Taylor), 57 (Latham), 98 (Nicholls), 154 (de Grandhomme),
154 (Watling), 154 (Santner), 163 (Wagner), 171 (Southee).
Bowling: M Starc 14-5-45-4, P Cummins 19-6-31-2
(2w, 1nb), N Lyon 22.3-3-63-4, T Head 5-1-13-0, M Labuschagne 5-0-13-0.
Result: Australia won by 296 runs, lead threematch series 1-0.
Wagner’s tally of first-class overs this season now stands at 267.5 (1607 deliveries).
‘‘He’s sore now because he’s bowled a lot of overs but he’s a very resilient guy and I’m sure he’ll be ready again.
‘‘If you look at Neil’s career he’s built his reputation on bowling around chest height and he’s done it very well. One reason it works for him so well is that Neil is not that tall and it then skids at the batsman and makes it very hard to evade.
‘‘Is it bodyline? I don’t know, I think it’s part of the game and the bouncer is a legitimate delivery.’’
Wagner also had the distinction of removing the prolific Steve Smith twice in the test to short deliveries and cleverly placed fields, for a combined 59 runs.
‘‘Any time you get Steve Smith out for less than his average it’s a good thing. It’s only one game and he’s been in the nets every day working very hard on his game.
‘‘He’ll try to work out ways to combat what we do and we’ll have to have other plans as well.’’
New Zealand fly to Melbourne today where they play a two-day match against a Victorian XI with a day in between, Friday and Sunday.
Stead didn’t rule out changes for the MCG, with opener Jeet Raval under the pump after averaging 7.33 from his last nine test innings. Tom Blundell is the only backup batsman in the squad.
‘‘Any batsman wants to score as many runs as they can and Jeet has gone through a tough time recently. We’re all trying as hard as we can to help Jeet and get him in a good frame of mind.
‘‘It’s the first day after the test right now and we’ve got 4-5 trainings and a match to work through as well. We’ve selected a squad of 15 and we have options but we also want to be sure it’s the right time if we do make a change.’’
Same with spinner Mitchell Santner, who wheeled down 41 wicketless overs while Australia’s Nathan Lyon took six for the match. Legspinner Todd Astle is also in reserve, Stead noted.
‘‘Nathan Lyon has over 300 wickets and we don’t have anyone in New Zealand anywhere near that. Mitch has done a wonderful role for us in test matches in our conditions.
‘‘Like all positions we’ll evaluate where we’re at and work out whether we think it’s the right option for Melbourne.’’